Cristobal Geovany López Acevedo, known on social media as Tropi Gamer, denies ever being a militant of the Sandinista Front, claiming he was “only” a supporter of the ruling party. “I sympathized with the Sandinista Front, like many political prisoners,” López told DIVERGENTES in a hotel room in Guatemala City, where he was banished on September 5th along with 134 other critics of the Ortega-Murillo regime.
López, 34, became known in 2020 after a video of him went viral on social media. He was abruptly interrupted by police officers while livestreaming a speech by Daniel Ortega during the anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution, celebrated every July 19th in Managua.
Since 2019, the Ortega-Murillo regime has held these events in closed circuits, handpicking guests. This was a departure from previous years, when Sandinistas held mass gatherings to showcase their political strength, serving as a public display of support for the presidential couple.
As one of the few guests to the July 19, 2020 event, López thanked the Sandinista coordinators of Managua’s District III for inviting him. Only 700 people were selected nationwide to attend Ortega’s speech in person. “It’s an honor to be here,” López said, just minutes before being beaten by four men he identified as “state security.”
Recibe nuestro boletín semanal
Hours after the beating, López posted a video explaining what had happened and stated, “Before I begin, let me make this clear: I support Daniel Ortega. I support the socialist model of the Sandinista Front.” He went on to say, “I’m more Sandinista than anyone.” He also claimed that since the April 2018 uprising, he had defended the regime using his own resources.
López explained that on the day of the incident, after the agents searched his phone, “they found that everything on it was in support of Commander Daniel Ortega.”
Becoming Tropi Gamer
On Friday, September 7, 2024, López recounted how his disappointment with the Sandinista party began after what happened to him on July 19, 2020. “That’s when I started to see who they really were,” he says with an ironic smile.
A few days after the attack, López sensed “a big opportunity to do something” with the newfound popularity from the viral video. “To turn something good out of the bad that happened to me,” he says.
He then began streaming content about video games on social media, and “it worked,” says López, who named himself Tropi Gamer. The name “Tropi” was a shortened version of a nickname given to him online, where people compared him physically to “Tropikong,” a cartoon gorilla from a Nicaraguan electronics store logo.
Tropi Gamer said his first month of monetization on social media brought in $400 from Facebook. As his page “spontaneously grew” in followers, the payments increased, though he declined to disclose how much he earned. “Since the page was doing well, I distanced myself from political conflicts and focused on staying neutral,” he says.
Arrested on his mom’s birthday
He remained apolitical for a while, avoiding political commentary and ceasing to praise Ortega and his party. However, after the 2021 elections, when Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo won another uncontested term, López questioned the legitimacy of the elections. “If I were a Sandinista militant, I’d be ashamed to say we won,” he said during a livestream. “The only people who voted were Sandinista militants and those who had to vote or else they’d lose their jobs,” he added.
Despite these remarks, López did not receive any threats. He continued his work on social media, including TikTok. However, after posting a series of videos defending Sheynnis Palacios, Nicaragua’s Miss Universe contestant, against ridicule from Ortega-Murillo family-owned TV hosts, Tropi Gamer was arrested. “I was arrested for supporting Sheynnis Palacios, because she doesn’t follow their [Ortega and Murillo’s] doctrine,” he emphasized.
López was arrested on November 22, 2023, three days after Palacios won the Miss Universe crown. According to López, a group of men in motorcycles and a police car with about ten officers detained him while he was on his way to buy a birthday gift for his mother.
Following Palacios’ victory, a young woman who had participated in anti-government protests during the 2018 crisis, several people were arrested, including Tropi Gamer. The director of Miss Nicaragua, the organization that prepared Palacios for the pageant, was also banished.
Throughout this time, Miss Universe Nicaragua did not speak out on any of the arrests or call for the release of those detained for celebrating her win. López, however, says he holds no “resentment” toward her and doesn’t regret defending her. “I defended her because she’s a Nicaraguan who was winning in the competition, she was the favorite at Miss Universe, and it was a big deal for the country. That helps a country, though unfortunately not in Nicaragua,” López says.
Tropi Gamer even understands why Palacios has stayed silent on the matter, “due to the responsibilities” she has with the Miss Universe franchise. “She [Sheynnis] has to remain neutral, even if it means staying quiet about things she might want to say.”
The TikToker believes Miss Universe won’t make any political statements for now, but “I’m sure at some point she’ll speak out.”
The Hell of “La 300”
López, sporting a fresh haircut, looks slightly thinner and pale, though he insists the weight loss was intentional due to a diet, as he “was too fat,” he joked. “Prison is tough, but it didn’t take away my sleep or my appetite,” he adds.
He was initially detained for a few hours at District III police station in Managua, which exiled prisoners described as “horrible” due to the mistreatment they endured.
The first few days in jail, López was “confused and afraid.” He was charged with various crimes, including child pornography, drug trafficking, and organized crime. “The trials were fake,” López said, explaining that the evidence consisted of videos downloaded from the internet and police officers’ testimonies.
He was later transferred to “La 300,” the maximum-security cell block of Managua’s Modelo prison. For nine months, he was held in a cell measuring three meters long by two meters wide, where he could barely walk and could only sit or lie down. The space was completely enclosed with a steel door, and the heat was unbearable. He was allowed outside for just 10 minutes a week to see the sun.
However, the most difficult part of his imprisonment was not being able to hug his mother, who visited him but could only see him through a glass partition while they spoke through a phone. “I wasn’t tortured, not physically or verbally, but not being able to hug or kiss my mother affected me,” he notes.
“I regret supporting the Sandinista Front”
During interrogations, his Sandinista past was only mentioned a few times, but afterward, he says he was treated “just like the other political prisoners.”
In his time behind bars, López had plenty of time to reflect on the support he once gave to the ruling party. “I regret supporting the Sandinista Front because if they treat the people who support them like this, you can only imagine how they treat those who are fully against them,” he concludes.